As part of the 6th General Assembly of CEAMA, held from March 16 to 20, 2026, in Bogotá, Pope Leo XIV sent a video message addressed to the participants of the gathering, in which he expressed his closeness to the Amazonian peoples and encouraged the Church in the region to continue the synodal journey begun following the 2019 Synod for the Amazon.
Addressing the bishops, priests, religious men and women, and laypeople gathered at the Assembly, the Holy Father began his message with a greeting of peace and communion, highlighting the spiritual and discerning nature of the gathering:
“It is with joy that I address all of you… you are experiencing a privileged time of listening to the Holy Spirit to discern the path of the communities rooted in that region”.
The Pope recalled that the Assembly is the fruit of a preparatory process accompanied by prayer, in which the participants have shared with him the challenges, sufferings, and hopes of the Amazonian peoples, as well as their concern over the growing deterioration of their natural environment. In light of these realities, he expressed his pastoral closeness to those living through these situations.
Synodal Pastoral Horizons for the Mission in the Amazon
In his message, the Holy Father particularly commended the Assembly’s work in formulating the Synodal Pastoral Horizons, one of the central tasks of the gathering. These horizons seek to guide the Church’s mission in the region and strengthen the proclamation of the Gospel in an Amazonian context.
The Pope cited Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation *Querida Amazonia* to recall that the Church’s mission is to proclaim:
“A God who loves every human being infinitely and who has fully manifested that love in Christ.”
He also noted that during the Assembly, the election of the new CEAMA presidency for the 2026–2030 term will take place, whose mission will be to continue promoting the implementation of the Synod’s guidelines for the Amazon and to prepare the Amazonian experience’s contribution to the future Ecclesial Assembly scheduled for Rome in 2028.
“Something new is being born”: the biblical inspiration for the Assembly
Pope Leo XIV also referred to the biblical motto chosen by the Assembly, taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am about to do something new: it is already sprouting, do you not see it?” (Is 43:19).
Drawing on this image, the Pope invited the participants to recognize the signs of newness that the Spirit is bringing forth in the Amazonian Church. To illustrate this hope, he evoked the shihuahuaco, an emblematic tree of the Amazon rainforest known as the “giant of the jungle.”
This tree, he explained, grows slowly but can live for more than a thousand years and become a true ecosystem that provides shelter and life to many species. With this image, the Pope noted that the Church is called to be:
a sign of unity in diversity and a safe haven that generates and protects life.
A Church of the Beatitudes
In his reflection, the Holy Father recalled that the future promised by the prophet Isaiah finds its fulfillment in the vision of the Book of Revelation, where God “makes all things new” (Rev 21:5). For this reason, he invited the participants to work with a faith deeply rooted in Christ, capable of renewing personal and communal life.
In this context, he noted that the Church in the Amazon is called to be:
“The Church of the Beatitudes, a Church that makes room for the little ones and walks in poverty with the poor.”
This evangelical perspective is particularly significant in light of the social, environmental, cultural, and ecclesial challenges facing the Amazon region, marked in many places by situations of exploitation, abuse, and environmental degradation.
The Passion Flower: A Prophetic Symbol of the Amazonian Church
The Pope also referred to the symbol chosen for this Assembly, the passion flower, whose shape recalls the elements of Christ’s Passion. For the Holy Father, this image expresses the prophetic dimension of the Church in the Amazon.
As he explained, the mission of the Church and of all its members—each according to their vocation—consists in:
- proclaiming the kerygma and new life in Christ,
- accompanying those who suffer,
- caring for creation,
- defending respect for life in all its forms, especially human life.
Toward a Church with an Amazonian Face
Another central aspect of the message was the reference to the process of building a Church with an Amazonian face, one of the great dreams emerging from the 2019 Synod for the Amazon.
The Pope recalled that this path is realized through the process of inculturation of the faith, which allows the Gospel to engage in dialogue with the cultures and wisdom of the Amazonian peoples. Citing the Aparecida Document, he emphasized that inculturation enriches the Church with new expressions and values, allowing for a fuller catholicity—not only geographical but also cultural.
At the same time, he acknowledged that this is a demanding path, one that requires openness and courage to embrace the newness of the Spirit:
“We must courageously accept the newness of the Spirit, who is always capable of creating something new with the inexhaustible treasure of Jesus Christ.”
Continuing to sow hope in the Amazon
Finally, Pope Leo XIV encouraged pastors and the faithful to continue strengthening the identity of missionary disciples in the Amazon, recalling the witness of so many people who have given their lives in service to the Gospel in this region.
The Holy Father recalled those who have sown the Gospel even with their own blood, becoming—united with the passion of Christ—the root of that “giant tree” that continues to grow in the Amazon today.
The Pope concluded his message by entrusting the fruits of the Sixth General Assembly of CEAMA to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Creator, and by imparting his Apostolic Blessing to all participants.
In this way, the Holy Father’s video message becomes a powerful spiritual impetus for the journey that the Amazonian Church continues to undertake: a synodal Church, inculturated and committed to the defense of life, the peoples, and our Common Home.